Taxpayer money

To the Editor:

It appears from what I read and hear that many people think the government has a vast amount of money to be given out. Perhaps if we start using the word “taxpayers” as a substitution for the word “government” when referring to federal, state and local government spending, people’s perspective and understanding might change.

For example, instead of saying the “government deficit is more than $1 trillion a year,” we should say, “the taxpayers’ deficit is more than $1 trillion a year.”

Or, instead of “the government will spend ....” we say, “the taxpayers will spend ...”

A large number of people who receive taxpayer-funded benefits don’t realize where the money comes from.